¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?)

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project © Freisy González Portales - Suzany González, age 38. Implanted in 2007. Removed in 2023. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate. © Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project View all images ↓
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By 2013, 85,000 breast implants had been performed in Venezuela. This project stems from conversations with Venezuelan women who have had their breast implants removed in recent years due to health complications (ASIA syndrome) or ruptures

The tension between symbolic violence and power exercised over the body, so prevalent in today's world, is sutured with the paradox of an era marked by obsession and the cult of beauty. In this context, the body is configured as a cultural fact and stands as one of the symbols of merchandise par excellence.


This critical analogy is particularly evident in the widespread use of silicone implants, whose background is not only symbolic but also immunological. ASIA syndrome, described by Shoenfeld in 2011, shows how these adjuvants can trigger systemic reactions: chronic inflammation, autoantibody production, and an increased risk of serious diseases, with explantation being the only possible remedy. What is offered as a promise of beauty ends up, in many cases, becoming a “wound.”

According to the Venezuelan Society of Plastic Surgery, in 2011, 40,000 women in Venezuela received breast implants each year. These figures were further highlighted by the case of French PIP implants, which were withdrawn from the market due to their high potential for rupture and were widely used in our country (BBC, 2011; El Mundo, 2011). By 2013, 85,000 breast implants had been performed in Venezuela, according to the International Society of Plastic Surgery (Primera hora, 2014).

According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), one in five patients who receive breast implants have them removed after 10 years due to complications such as ruptures, deflation, or leakage, and painful contraction of the scar tissue around the implant, known as capsular contracture. And this number of injuries has been increasing: from 4,567 in 2017 to 8,242 during the first half of 2018 (Infobae, 2018).

The project is configured as a form of denunciation, a space where the work establishes a dialogue with the testimonies of those who have experienced these bodily transformations. Their stories allow us to perceive in a tangible way how these interventions affect not only the surface of the body, but also its biology and subjective experience: the feeling of vulnerability, the systemic effects, the physical and emotional scars, which are not simple individual accidents, but expressions of a social and aesthetic logic that prioritizes appearance over the integrity of the body.

In this way, “the wound” is no longer just physical: it is cultural, political, and economic, reminding us that no transformation is superfluous and carries with it the weight of a transaction, testimony to the control, intervention, and exploitation of the vitality of a body inscribed in a system that produces beauty at the expense of the lived and the biological.

* By definition, Adjuvant-Induced Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome (ASIA), also known as Shoenfeld Syndrome, encompasses various autoimmune conditions and phenomena induced by exposure to elements or substances with adjuvant activity. Its manifestations include myalgia, arthralgia, endocrine disorders (such as diabetes, thyroiditis, ovarian failure, etc.), chronic fatigue, and dry mouth, as well as neurological manifestations: cognitive impairments, memory loss, and neurological disabilities (López-Loyo, 2025).

Eva Pintiado Rapado/Freisy González Portales

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Projection and volume calculations for breast implants, by Surgeon Juan Carlos Blanco, and a breast implantat at his doctor's office in Caracas. Photo transfer on silicone.

© Freisy González Portales - Suzany González, age 38. Implanted in 2007. Removed in 2023. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.
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Suzany González, age 38. Implanted in 2007. Removed in 2023. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Breast Implant Catalog from L.F. She told me she wanted much smaller breast implants than the ones the surgeon decided to insert without her consent. This is a situation that comes up frequently among the women I interviewed.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Deposit of heavy metals and implants. Breast implants contain around 19 heavy metals and damage the enviroment. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Silicon stones, which are extracted from heavy metal deposits, have uses even in the technology industry.Breast implants contain around 19 heavy metals in their composition. Photo transfer on silicone.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Silicone breast inserts used to pad bras. These are sold every day at supermarkets and department stores, which shows just how normalized it has become to increase breast size or to want a larger size.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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The economic situation in Venezuela has directly impacted many women’s ability to afford breast implant removal and to improve their health and alleviate the symptoms they suffer from ASIA syndrome. After all, implant removal is even more expensive than breast augmentation.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Tags of breast implants belonging to L.F, from Caracas, Venezuela. Many brands of breast implants are being withdrawn from the market because they cause complications that endanger women's lives

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Ultrasound of L.F.'s breast implants, performed to assess the condition of the breast implants -especially in the presence of ASIA symptoms- and to detect complications such as capsular contracture and ruptures, among others

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Broken implant (PIP) of Yurimara Amundaraín, replaced in 2007. She was one of the women affected by the case of French PIP implants, which were withdrawn from the market due to their high potential for rupture and were widely used in our country, and many others

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Anatomopathological report on Marisela Izquierdo's capsules. The capsules are scar tissue around the implant, which must be completely removed during explantation. They are sent for analysis to rule out the presence of bacteria, cancer, among other things. Phototransfer on silicone

© Freisy González Portales - Jeska Lee Ruiz, a 45-year-old actress from Caracas. She had breast implants inserted in 2000 and removed in 2021.
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Jeska Lee Ruiz, a 45-year-old actress from Caracas. She had breast implants inserted in 2000 and removed in 2021.

© Freisy González Portales - Marisela Izquierdo's hair. One of the most common symptoms of ASIA syndrome is excessive hair loss. File photo of Izquierdo
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Marisela Izquierdo's hair. One of the most common symptoms of ASIA syndrome is excessive hair loss. File photo of Izquierdo

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Women waiting in line and being checked in at the plastic surgery unit of the University Hospital of Caracas.Photograph taken by Keiber Franco that went to her consultation to have her implants removed. Next to a portrait of Yurimara Amundaraín after having her implants removed by surgeon Andrés Ocando. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Implants removed from María Machado during explantation surgery, with surgeon Andrés Ocando in July 2025.Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Breast implants and tags belonging to Elena Marín, 39 years old (actress and singer), from Carupano, Venezuela. Implanted in 2013. Removed in 2023. Elena Marín, 39 years old, from Carupano. Implanted in 2013. Explanted in 2023.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Self-portrait of Marisela Izquierdo of her Anchor suture and implants removed, during the recovery process after her breast implants were removed. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.

© Freisy González Portales - Image from the ¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) photography project
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Keiber Franco, 53, from Caracas. Implanted in 2007. Explanted in 2023. Keiber plays with his hair and dances while I photograph him. She is a holistic sex counselor. Photo transfer on embossed aluminum plate.

¿Qué otro nombre tiene la herida? (What other name is there for a wound?) by Freisy González Portales

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